Having recently attended the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Bjarke Ingels and Jakob Lange speak with Fast Co.Design on the full plan to build a prototype Martian settlement in Dubai. Initiated by the UAE government to lead the global scientific mission to reach and colonize Mars by 2117, the world’s largest space simulation, Mars Science City, will serve as a test bed for the materials and techniques that could feasibly be used to build on the red planet. The exclusive interview examines the vernacular architecture specific to Mars, guiding principles for living qualities in the Martian environment, and more. See the full project page here.

Hyperloop One raised $85 million in new funding that includes the investment from Virgin Group, leading to a rebrand of Virgin Hyperloop One in the coming months. The global partnership, with Richard Branson joining the board of directors, will see a focus in the technology behind the passenger experience and mixed-use cargo service, as well as accelerate projects underway in the UAE, U.S., Canada, Finland, the Netherlands and India.

Panda House received generous funding from Danfoss, Lundbeck, Vestas, VELUX and more donors, clearing way for construction to begin immediately. The 2,450 m2 habitat at Copenhagen Zoo forms the freest and most naturalistic possible environment for pandas to roam about and live within ideal conditions to mate. The two giant pandas Mao Sun and He Xing can expect their new home to be ready in a few years.

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and LEGO bring the toy scale of the classic LEGO brick to architectural scale with LEGO House, forming vast exhibition spaces and public squares that embody the culture and values at the heart of all LEGO experiences. Photo by Iwan Baan.

“LEGO house is a literal manifestation of the infinite possibilities of the LEGO brick – one that embodies the notion of systematic creativity and allows children of all ages countless opportunities to create their own worlds and to inhabit them through play. At its finest – that is what architecture – and LEGO play – is all about: empowering people to imagine new worlds that are more exciting and expressive than the status quo – and to provide them with the tools and the skills to make them reality. This is what children do every day with LEGO bricks – and this is what we have done today at LEGO House with actual bricks, taking Billund a step closer towards becoming the Capital for Children.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.

United Arab Emirates leaders have selected BIG to build the largest ever space simulation city in the UAE desert, a destination which will mimic the conditions of life on Mars. Covering 1.9 million square feet, ‘Mars Science City' project will provide a realistic model to simulate life on the surface of the red planet. A series of domed structures will host laboratories for food, energy and water, agricultural testing and studies about food security, and a museum displaying humanity’s greatest space achievements. The Mars Science City project falls within the UAE’s objectives to lead the global scientific race to take people to Mars. It is also part of the Mars 2117 Strategy, launched during the fifth World Government Summit, which seeks to build the first settlement on Mars in the next 100 years.

BIG FC is excited to play at the 2017 Global Goals World Cup to advocate for the successful implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The team will be playing for Goal #11: Sustainable Cities & Communities, and welcomes all friends and families to join at 5pm on Tuesday, September 19 at Transmitter Park, Greenpoint for an evening of soccer, music, awards and celebrations.

Together with Moe & Brødsgaard and steel contractor Züblin Stahlbau GmbH, BIG is honored to receive the Award of Merit for creative and excellent use of steel design, at Copenhagen's new waste-to-energy plant and ski center. Amager Resource Center is awarded today at the European Convention for Constructional Steelworks, held for the first time in Denmark.

"The plant exhibits a superb use of steel - both as visible material and as optimized structural steel - united in an international class construction facility." Judging Committee, European Steel Prize.

Urban Rigger was selected as one of ten finalists in the Spaces, Places, and Cities category for Fast Company’s sixth annual Innovation By Design Awards. Chosen for its ability to improve the urban fabric, the floating, carbon neutral dwellings are constructed from shipping containers and designed to be replicated in harbor cities where affordable housing is needed, but space is limited.

The BIG + ONE + Sherwood Team is selected from 51 submissions to participate in the yearlong Bay Area Challenge to develop resiliency solutions for the region’s issues brought on by climate change. The team, co-led by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), One Architecture + Urbanism (ONE), and Sherwood Design Engineers (Sherwood), brings together international experience from Denmark, the Netherlands and the Bay Area to propose an implementable, community-based design for protection against sea level rise, severe storms, flooding and earthquakes.

CopenHill celebrates the coming of Amager Resource Center (ARC) with a "While We Wait" Open House on Saturday, September 16. The day-long festivity will introduce the full scope of the power plant/ski center and invite friends and families to enjoy various activities free and open to the public: hear live music, see the world's largest LEGO ship, get urban training experience from personal trainers, practice on a mobile climbing wall and learn about ski club offers for ARC, opening soon in 2018.